General Forums >> General Discussion >> Eyewitnesses in American Justice
Eyewitnesses in American Justice
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Posted 2 months ago I recently watched a show that covered Eyewitnesses in American Justice and it kinda made me nervous. The basic idea was that not all eyewitness accounts are truly the way a crime may have happened or that the wrong person is pointed to as the one who committed the crime. Two different cases ended the same way with the person on trial being found guilty due to eyewitness testimony and then later being exonerated. I could not begin to imagine being blamed for something I didn't do because I happen to look like someone else. It was also mentioned that a study found that 75% of those exonerated by DNA evidence were initially convicted due to eyewitness testimony. I watched a different show over the weekend where a "memory experiment" was performed and the results were astounding. A group of 6 people were given helmets armed with cameras and taken for a wilderness hike where they stumbled upon a taped off scene. There was wreckage and an armed guard. This whole thing was staged and they knew nothing about until they stumbled upon it. Anyway, a month later they are interviewed and asked to recollect things that stuck out in their minds about that day. This is where it got crazy.... One woman swore up and down that there were 2 armed guards and one of them pointed a gun a her. Well, it never happened. The tapes were reviewed and it showed that she barely even got a good look and the seen much less the armed guard. Crazy. I will certainly be sure to take a closer look at people now. What do you think about eyewitness testimony being (aside from physical evidence) the basis of most cases prosecuted? Do you think that people of different races "see" each other differently, physically? Could you describe someone of a different race as well as a person of the same race as the person you were asked to describe? I'm really curious to know your thoughts. Need Breeds Ingenuity!
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| Posted 2 months ago I think it takes a trained eye and lots of practice to pay attention and accurately reflect back your surroundings. What if you're distracted by something going on in your personal life? Heck, sometimes I'm so caught up in my own thoughts I don't know how I got from point A to point B - scary to think something could happen and cause a situation that puts your freedom in jeopardy - but they make enough tv movies about just that. Perhaps there needs to be a larger plan that includes an eyewitness account as part of the requirement for a conviction -- without making it the sole basis. |
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| Posted 2 months ago It is a scary thing. I have seen reports like this too and one station did a test to prove Everyone sees things differently. Ten people who see the same person would describe that person differently. I wonder too if the line ups are fair. Do all of the people in the line ups look similarly? Or are they all random with one looking most like what the victim/witness described? |
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| Posted 2 months ago This phenomenon happens in families. My siblings and I were all raised together and everyone has a different account for how things "were". I'm finding my own children doing the same thing. Where was I when they said all these different things occurred? "What you do for yourself - any gesture of kindness, any gesture of gentleness, any gesture of honesty and clear seeing toward yourself - will affect how you experience your world. In fact, it will transform how you experience the world. What you do for yourself, you're doing for others, and what you do for others, you're doing for yourself." |
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| Posted 2 months ago Watchnstarz44 says ...
This kind of reminds me of an experiment that is done is classrooms where the teacher says something to the first kid and he/she is to repeat it to the next and so on..... In the end what the last student repeats what he/she was told is entirely different than what the first student was told. I imagine it works the same within ONE individual with regards to recollecting memories. A study had shown that it is human nature to apply the knowledge you have today to the memories you have of yesterday. Therefore, no longer recollecting the way the event happened when it actually happened. Crazy stuff. Need Breeds Ingenuity!
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| Posted 2 months ago McKaren says ...
Right on McKaren! I think that we are extremely easily distracted creatures and hinging on what someone thinks they saw as the sole basis (sometimes) for conviction is unbelievable. When I first read your post I didn't understand what you were saying but I get it now. LOL A LARGER plan which MAY include an eyewitness account may help but less innocent people behind bars. Need Breeds Ingenuity!
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| Posted 2 months ago DianaW says ...
Diana, this reminds me also that during the show that I mentioned initially it was stated that the police get so "hell bent" (my words) on catching the perp that they hone in on one suspect if there are mulitliple eyewitnesses that point the finger at that one person. One case in particular was of a man that was charged with Kidnapping and Murder of a 7yr old boy while on vacation in Las Vegas. There wasn't enough evidence to make an arrest so the man returned home (another state). Anyway, the police put his photo in a photo line up and the eyewitnesses were unable to i.d. him. So, the police round up the eyewitnesses and take them to the "suspects" place of work (in another state mind you) and asked them each to go in to this man's place of employment and see if they can find the man they saw abduct the little boy in Vegas. Needless to say, they all pointed him out as "the one". I could not believe it. This man had an alibi and there were at least 6 other guests there that fit the description of the man that took the child. Makes you quiver at the thought of the way the police handled that case. Need Breeds Ingenuity!
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